Case Number 09638: Small Claims Court

THE SILVER HORDE

The Charge

Something's Fishy Here

The Case

After an unsuccessful attempt at mining, a dejected Boyd Emerson (Joel McRae,
Sullivan's Travels) wanders into an Alaskan fishing village. Oddly
enough, he gets a chillier-than-normal reception. Seems local salmon magnate
Fred March (Gavin Gordon, The Bride of Frankenstein) wants no
competition, and even the innocent traveler is considered a major threat.
Thankfully, a friendly face named Cherry Malotte (Evelyn Brent) finds it in her
heart to take Boyd in. Within a few days, she's fallen madly in love with the
determined dreamer. Certain he can also make a go of the fishing game, Boyd
partners up with Cherry's buddy and travels to Seattle to secure financing. He
also hopes to patch things up with his rich fiancée Mildred (Jean Arthur,
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington). Seems her industrialist father would
rather she marry March. Boyd eventually gets his money and begins his business.
It's not long before he has March on the run. Not content to lose, the crocked
cad sets out to undermine his competitor in any way he can -- including telling
everyone of Cherry's checkered hooker past. Of course, this information
embarrasses Boyd and gets him in trouble with Mildred. Yet love conquers all in
the end and Boyd learns there's more to life than personal pride, a sullied
reputation, and The Silver Horde.

An early talkie and one of the first Hollywood productions to use Alaska as
a real location backdrop, The Silver Horde (a colloquialism for the
annual spawning of the salmon) is nothing very special. In fact, the previous
elements of interest listed are about the only thing this middling melodrama has
going for it. Unless you think a set-piece sequence of fish being beheaded,
gutted, and crammed into cans is the height of cinematic excellence, you'll be
bored by this inert slice of entertainment entropy. Granted, the central story
does stir some minor interest -- after all, it deals with a society debutante
and an ex-hooker vying for the affections of a naïve nice guy -- and with a
little help from the ancillary aspects of subplot and characterization, we'd
have a decent if derivative diversion. Instead, under the awkward auspices of
journeyman director George Archainbaud (who helmed many of the Hopalong Cassidy
films) this is a confusing, almost incoherent, mess. Initially we think we're in
for action and adventure. Our hero and his snide sidekick start out in the
frozen tundra, but it's not long before we're out of the Yukon and smack dab in
the middle of Seattle society. Another few scenes and it's back to the initial
fishing town. All the while, leading lady Cherry Malotte (now there's a name
with class!) is traversing the scenery, working deals and pining away for a man
who doesn't know her love-for-sale history.

Perhaps Archainbaud reached too far in trying to adapt Rex Beach's famous
novel into a 75-minute narrative. There was already a 1920 silent version of the
story and several sequences in the film feel like truncated chapters from a much
longer work. Indeed, the last-act denouement that throws the villainous Fred
March for a loop seems to arrive out of thin air. We are never prepared for the
revelation nor the reaction by actor Gavin Gordon. There was nary a hint of such
a seedy past in March's persona. Similarly, when Joel McCrae's Boyd Emerson
learns the truth about Cherry, he goes through a series of instant mood swings
that suggest days, not minutes, of having to adjust. Yet it's interesting to
note that, even with this cut-to-the-chase approach to the plot, The Silver
Horde just drags and drags. Sequences don't draw us in and completely fail
to force us to the next moment. During a nightclub scene, Boyd and his betrothed
enjoy a dance while Cherry looks on in dour despair. Instead of building on that
moment in the following frames, however, we cut to some surreal sequence where
Boyd's business partners can't figure out how to use the telephone. It's a
jarring juxtaposition, one that requires an audience member to reboot and
re-approach the film every time it happens.

Then there is the acting. McRae is fine, if a little flat, as the boyish
businessman brave enough to take on local tyrant March. On the other hand, in
the role of antagonist, Gordon is mere grimaces and squints. An incredibly young
Jean Arthur is all platinum hair and fancy gowns as the minx-ish Mildred. Yet
she never comes across as anything other than a whiny harpy. As for the
ancillary actors, their parts seem poured out of a typecasting mold (angry
bruiser, cynical smart ass) and add only minor atmosphere. It is therefore up to
Evelyn Brent to hold it all together as the jaded Cherry. While she's good,
she's not given much of a role. Basically, she's viewed as a doormat to all the
men, capable of delivering devastating monologues about the stain of loose
virtue, but otherwise an unlit candle on a moonless night. She radiates zero sex
appeal, barely registers as a beauty even when she decked out to the nines, and
is so beaten down and ridden hard that she seems like a somnambulist. When you
add this to the choppy plot, inconsistent tone, and overall ineffectiveness,
The Silver Horde is a very problematic movie. Some may see the Alaskan
landscape with all its wilderness wanderlust and immediately forgive all the
flaws, but for anyone looking for a coherent motion picture production, this is
not the place to cast your line.

That discount Criterion, otherwise known as The Roan Group (a Troma
subsidiary), truly believes it is an archivist of Hollywood's Golden Age.
Frankly, there's a lot of tarnish on many of the movies they uncover. As for the
transfer here, The Silver Horde looks pretty good, especially for a film
made nearly 76 years ago. The 1.33:1 full-frame print has a nice monochrome
mellowness, meaning that the black and white is not as sharp as it could be.
Still, there is a nice level of detail in the picture, resulting in a good
technical presentation. The sound is equally first-rate. The Dolby Digital Mono
is clean and crisp and we have no difficulty understanding the dialogue. As for
extras, Roan offers an interesting intro by New York Post critic Lou
Lumenick, a scene from Roan's release of The Last Frontier, Troma chief
Lloyd Kaufman discussing business as a backdrop to another title, Rod Serling's
Patterns, and an odd featurette on child star Bobby...Winckler. That's
right, instead of focusing on The Silver Horde, Winckler's son Bill
offers his hearsay stories about the life of a young child star in Hollywood.
It's interesting, but has nothing to do with the movie at hand.

Had it found a way to smooth out the substantial rough spots and enliven its
narrative with a spark of action and adventure, The Silver Horde would be
an above average Tinseltown treasure. As it stands, it's the kind of shoddy
distraction that deserves to be thrown back into the seas of stories.

Distinguishing Marks
* Introduction from New York Post Film Critic Lou Lumenick
* Scene from Feature -- The Last Frontier
* Lloyd Kaufman discusses business as a part of the presentation of Patterns
* Featurette -- "Life of a Child Star" with Bill Winckler